Overview
- Iraq’s defense ministry said the last U.S. advisers left Al-Asad Air Base, and Iraqi forces took over the installation after Lt. Gen. Abdul Amir Rashid Yarallah reassigned duties on site.
- U.S. Central Command confirmed that Iraq’s announcement about the handover was accurate.
- Baghdad announced the coalition’s withdrawal from federal facilities, including the Joint Operations Command headquarters, placing those sites under full Iraqi security control.
- U.S. troops continue to operate from the Kurdistan Region’s Harir Air Base and support counter-ISIS efforts in neighboring Syria as forces consolidate outside federal Iraqi territory.
- The drawdown follows a 2024 U.S.–Iraq agreement to wind down the coalition by late 2025, and Iraqi officials say the step strengthens their hand in negotiations to curb non-state armed groups.